


Frère

by theministerskat



Series: Kat's Other Outlander Tales [8]
Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Gen, Outlander Season 4, Show Missing Moment, show canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 06:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17299475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theministerskat/pseuds/theministerskat
Summary: Brianna begins to learn more things about Jamie and herself.





	Frère

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt submitted to @otheroutlandertales by anonymous over on Tumblr: Imagine Claire introducing Fergus to Brianna as “your brother”.

“Were ye able to stop in and see Fergus and Marsali before ye met us, Ian?” Brianna’s ears perked as Jamie’s voice penetrated her thoughts, and she looked up from tracing the grain lines in the wood at her perch on the railing. He was standing just a few meters away with her cousin at the back of the boat.

 

She was still enraptured by the sight of him. He had only been a character in her mother’s stories before, roughly sketched in her mind, only slightly resembling herself. But now, with every new detail, each one completely unique, he had taken shape before her. The way his voice rose and fell in that familiar Highland burr, his mannerisms and expressions, the way he carried himself - all these things fell into place one by one and transformed the sketch of him into something she never could have imagined. But he was real.

 

It hadn’t surprised her that he was just as massive as her mother had described to her and Roger back in the study of the old manse. What Claire hadn’t been able to convey was the welcoming warmth he naturally emitted. It was a warmth that smoothed the hard edges of his physicality and brought a comforting strength to those in his presence. She had found solace in that aspect of him from the moment they had met and he’d held her for the first time. He had made her feel safe despite the horrors that now haunted her.

 

Ian’s answer to Jamie’s question only dimly registered in her mind as she continued to study the older man intently.

 

“Aye, I did Uncle. And wee Germain. The lad was happy as a frog on a lilypad in the sun when I was holdin’ him.” There was an air of pride in his voice and Jamie laughed. Brianna tried to memorize every component of it. The deep and unbridled sound that started in his belly and echoed out of him; the way small lines appeared across his weather-beaten skin as his lips turned up into a smile that lingered. She was surprisingly unsurprised that she recognized the expression on his face, having seen the same in the mirror often enough.

 

“I dinna think it was just you, Ian. Marsali says he’s a sweet wee lad, has’na given her much trouble at all.” Brianna wondered who it was Jamie was talking about. It was obvious that these people meant a great deal to him because there was a tone to his voice that she had heard before. It was much like the one he had used with her in that alleyway just a few days before; infused with that same warmth that radiated off of him, as though he couldn’t contain the love and pride he held within and it spilled out with each word spoken.

 

Brianna didn’t feel comfortable interrupting her father and cousin to ask questions just now, something she never would have balked at with Daddy. But this man, though he was real, was still new to her. She stood then, curiosity nibbling at her, and moved around to the front of the boat. She glimpsed her mother inside the cabin, and stepped down through the door to join her.

 

“Mama?” Claire looked up from the wooden medicine box. She was seated on the lone cot, where it was apparent she had been taking inventory of her stock, a quill tight between her teeth and a small notebook laid open beside her. Brianna couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

 

Her mother had always been meticulous about her note taking, and Brianna remembered all the times she had watched her as a child, sitting at the kitchen table, papers and files spread out as she wrote furiously. Apparently the change in century hadn’t altered the habit one bit.

 

Claire removed the quill from her mouth and returned her daughter’s smile. “Yes, darling?”

 

“I heard Jamie and Ian talking and was wondering . . . Who’s Marsali?” Her voice was even though she felt anxious over the answer she may receive.

 

“She’s Fergus’ wife.” The answer was simple, straightforward, as though she should know the name, and Brianna felt almost foolish for inquiring further.

 

“And who’s Fergus?”

 

Claire studied her daughter for a moment, trying to discern where the line of questioning was headed. Brianna had always been an inquisitive child, but she’d always had a purpose for it before.

 

“Well, I guess he’s your-”

 

“-brother.” She saw her mother’s lips forming the word, but it was a deep Scottish accent that came from behind that she heard it said in. Brianna turned and saw Jamie standing in the doorway of the tiny cabin.

 

“ _Brother_?” She was stunned for an instant, trying to process what this could mean beyond the obvious implications. Her mother had told her about losing a daughter while she and Jamie were in France, but nothing about another child.

 

“For all intents and purposes,” her mother finished at the look of confusion on Brianna’s face. “Remember the young French orphan I told you and Roger about? The one we took in as our own?” Brianna began to nod as the penny dropped and the details of her mother’s story started coming back to her. “Well he’s a grown man now, with a family of his own.”

 

"He has a son, Germain.” Jamie smiled at her. “Plump as a wee piglet that one."

 

Brianna couldn’t help but smile back at her father and she felt the urge to laugh at the thought of him holding a baby no more than a few months old in those large and encompassing arms.

 

“He’ll be an American then? Germain?” She realized it was an absurd thing to say at such a time, but it was the only coherent thought she could fully put into words.

 

“Aye, _a leannan_. A French father, Scottish mother, but an American no less.”

 

“Just like me,” Brianna almost whispered it, but both of her parents heard her. She felt an usual sense of kinship with the small babe, both of their parents had made sacrifices for their well being, some great, some small, but sacrifices nonetheless.

 

“Yes, Bree, just like you,” her mother answered.

 

“Will I get to meet him? Do they live on the Ridge too?”

 

“Oh weel, no. Fergus and Marsali live in Wilmington.” Jamie shook his head. “With everything . . . Christ, I didna think to bring ye by there. Fergus will be elated to hear ye’ve come though.”

 

“He knows about me?” Brianna asked, genuinely surprised. Her cousin had obviously not known about her existence, and she had presumed her father hadn’t told anyone about her mother being pregnant when she left all those years ago.

 

“Oh, aye. I told him of ye when ye were no more than a bairn still in yer mother’s belly. It brought me comfort to speak of ye to him, and him comfort to know of ye.” Jamie stared at her intently for a moment, a shadow crossing his face. A look passed between her parents that she couldn’t read. Sorrow, hope, joy - things hidden under the surface, stilling her tongue. “He’ll be thrilled that ye’re here with us now.”

 

 _A brother_ , Brianna thought, and took a deep breath. She had always longed for a sibling, someone to share every aspect of life with. Now she had one here, someone who by her father’s words had always loved her.

 

“Well, I hope I won’t disappoint him then.” She had meant it as a joke, one to lighten the mood that had befallen the cabin. But her mother sensed the insecurity in her voice and reached for Brianna’s hand, taking it in her own.

 

“Never.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read this story!
> 
> If you would like to submit a prompt to Other Outlander Tales, or check out any of our other stories, you can do so by visiting me and the other mods over on Tumblr at otheroutlandertales.tumblr.com.


End file.
